Octothorpe

John doesn’t want to pass out, Alison is a wuss, but Liz doesn’t think it’s gratuitous. An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: Gore and vampirism (Liz’s pick) Letters of comment Chris Garcia (email) Fredrik Coulter (Facebook) Ivan Sinha (email) Nicholas Whyte (email) Paul Weimer (email) Roseanna Pendlebury (email) Tammy Coxen (Bluesky) We also heard from Ali Baker Brooks, Farah Mendlesohn, Kev McVeigh, and Mike Scott Chris Barkley got his Hugo Award! Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden The Q&A Videos of the Q&A on YouTube Kayla Allen notes on File 770 that the sound is very poor in places Smofcon 2026: Smofcon 43 in Lisbon, Portugal The Worldcons that presented: 2026: LAcon V in Los Angeles, USA 2027: Montreal, Canada 2028: Brisbane, Australia Nuremberg, Germany Kigali, Rwanda 2029: Dublin, Ireland 2030: Edmonton, Canada 2031: Texas, USA 2032: Nantes, France Nantes Utopiales 2033: No interest 2034: Glasgow, Scotland Vision statement 2035: Poland Unknown: Czechia Festival Fantazie Picks John: Your Wish is My Command by Deena Mohamed Alison: The Lost Nose by John Sladek Sort of collected in Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek by John Sladek Liz: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Credits Cover art: “Alison is Still Obsessed with Ukuleles” by Alison Scott Alt text: A Mahalo Flying V, an Uma Blue Pineapple, and a Brunswick soprano are hanging on a Christmas tree beneath the words “Octothorpe 150”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is going to Smofcon, Alison has FOMO, and Liz is a horrible person. An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: None Letters of comment Andreas Davour (email) Chris Garcia (email) Ed Morland (BlueSky on 147, 148) Cyclo-cross Mathmo.org Emily January (email) Karen Schaffer (email) Literal antivirus Paul Weimer (email) Centrale Montemartini We also heard from Alan Fleming, Ali Baker Brooks, Andrew Thompson, Brian Nisbet, Bridget Bradshaw, DC, Duncan MacGregor, Ivan Sinha, Jan Harley, Kev McVeigh, Malcolm Hutchison, Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein, Shi Lala, and Tommy Ferguson Famous Belgians: Simon Stevin Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden Smofcon Q&As Salute of the Jugger How to stream it in the UK John would like to thank Glasgow 2024 for a travel bursary allowing him to attend! Novacon 2026: Novacon 55 in Buxton Una McCormack Picks John: The Truman Show Alison: Pluribus Liz: The Summer War by Naomi Novik Credits Cover art: ”Archaeologists“ by Alison Scott Alt text: John and Alison, dressed in clothes reminiscent of The Mummy, look down some stairs upon Liz’s tomb, in which her skeleton still holds her Hugo Award, framed by stonework. The words “Octothorpe 149” appear at the top of the image. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John, Alison, and stunt Liz Emily Tesh are live from Novacon 54! An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on X or on Mastodon or on Bluesky) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: It’s a live recording! Thanks to Emily Tesh for being our stunt Liz! You can find Emily at her website, with links to socials at the bottom of the page Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones Visit Stow Shirts for all your Octothorpe merchandise needs Picks John: The Life Impossible by Matt Haig Alison: Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler Emily: The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson Credits Cover art: “Live from Novacon” by Steven Cain and Alison Scott Alt text: Emily Tesh, John, and Alison stand in front of a suspiciously purple background which may indicate that the real background has been subtracted by nefarious photo editing. The words “Octothorpe 148 Live from Novacon” are overlaid. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is ready, Alison had forgotten, and Liz is surprised. An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: Animal torture (letters of comment) Letters of comment Chris Garcia (email) Ed Morland (BlueSky) Farah Mendlesohn (Facebook) Pictcon 2026: PictCon 2 in Perth, 17 October Finbarr O’Reilly (email) Kev McVeigh (Facebook) Kin-Ming Looi (Facebook) Paul Weimer (BlueSky, email) Tammy Coxen (Facebook) Terry Gibbs (Facebook) Raj (Mastodon) We also heard from Mike Scott, Neil Ottenstein and Tammy Coxen 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction Ebon Moss-Bachrach on the red carpet Event broadcast on YouTube LAcon V opens Hugo Awards Base Contest 36th Galaxy Awards Roderick Leeuwenhart Tianwen Awards Ersatz Culture on Mastodon BKK Comics Art Festival #4 The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF Belgian comics Asian Board Games Festival (ABGF) “Walking The Walk With RPGs In Malaysia” (paywalled on Rascal) Picks John: The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship Shut Up & Sit Down’s review Board Game Arena The dice tower Alison: The Word for World exhibition at the Architectural Association Secret Maps at the British Library Liz: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Star Wars is being properly remastered? Credits Cover art: “Nepal Spotter’s Guide” by Paul Weimer (text by Alison Scott) Alt text: A photograph of the mountains of Nepal with text overlaid, reading “Octothorpe 147 Official Octothorpe Nepal Identification Guide* (*apparently never gets old)** (** Liz might like to go to a comics con there)”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)

John is on holiday, Alison said she’d have T-shirts ready, and Liz is back! An uncorrected transcript of this episode is available here. Please email your letters of comment to [email protected], join our Facebook group, and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Bluesky or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: None Letters of comment Doug Faunt (Facebook) Corflu 2026: Corflu Pickled in Santa Rosa, CA, USA Ian Hillman (DM) Jonny Baddeley (Facebook) Eastercon 2026: Iridescence in Birmingham Hotels are open: Check your emails for the link Merch should be available by the time you read this   Bursaries are open for applications, deadline of 31 October The volunteer form is open Haruhicon 2026: Birmingham Carrots, vitamin A, radar, and British propaganda BristolCon 2025 World Fantasy Con 2025: Brighton Armadacon 2025: Plymouth British Firework Championships Novacon 2025: Novacon 54 in Buxton Pictcon 2025: Pictcon1 in Perth Satellite 2026: Satellite 9 in Glasgow Worldcon finances Worldcon 2013: LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, TX, USA Worldcon 2015: Sasquan in Spokane, WA, USA Worldcon 2016: MidAmeriCon II in Kansas City, MO, USA Worldcon 2020: CoNZealand in Wellington, New Zealand (but mostly online) Worldcon 2023: Chengdu, China Worldcon 2024: Glasgow, UK Smofcon 2025: Smofcon 42 in Stockholm, Sweden Picks John: Tactical Breach Wizards Alison: Here East Conrad Shawcross – Umbilical (The Nervous System) V&A East Storehouse Liz: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson Credits Cover art: “Treasures of the V&A Storehouse” by Alison Scott Alt text: The Torrijos Ceiling at the Victoria & Albert East Storehouse. An elaborate, gilded and octagonal ceiling. Why yes, Alison has a new phone, how could you tell? Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0)